Ixiv Department of Plant-Breeding 



In some cases there is very little indication of the tendency to repro- 

 duce high yield, while in others this tendency seems to be very evident. 

 Certain of these strains have given high yields throughout the i)eriod of 

 testing, and therefore it seems that these varieties give good promise of 

 being high yielders under New York conditions. There now remains, 

 however, the testing of these strains in comparison with the standard 

 varieties grown in New York. Such a test was begun in 19 lo. For the 

 years 1910, 191 1 and 1912, the average yield of the best ten hybrids was 

 5y bushels per acre and for the best ten selections was 56.4 bushels per 

 acre, while that for the best eight varieties was 53.1 bushels per acre. 

 This test was conducted in a uniform manner, so that the ordinary 

 varieties (commercial) grew side by side with the hybrids and selections. 

 Since our soil is very ununiform, these varieties were planted in rod rows 

 which were repeated many times through the field, thus placing the differ- 

 ent strains on different types of soil. In this way we were able to conduct 

 a very careful test and thus learn the value of the different hybrids and 

 selections. 



Another interesting factor brought out in connection with the experi- 

 ments is the comparison between the yielding capacity of the hybrids and 

 selections. 



In 1907 the tests of all hybrids gave an average of 50 bushels per 

 acre, while the average of all straight selections gave a yield of 49.4 

 bushels per acre. In 1908 the calculated average yield per acre of all 

 hybrids was 55 bushels and of all straight selections 49.3 bushels. In 

 1909 the average yield of all hybrids was 36.5 bushels per acre, while 

 that of all straight selections was 38.9 bushels per acre. For 1910 the 

 average yield of all hybrids was 64.6 bushels per acre, while that of all 

 selections was 59.9 bushels per acre. For 191 1 the average yield of all 

 hybrids was 45.9 bushels per acre, of all selections 48.7 bushels per acre. 

 For 1912 the average yield of all hybrids was 52.5 bushels per acre and of 

 all selections 51.1 bushels per acre. The average for the six years was, for 

 the hybrids, 51.3 bushels per acre and for the selections 49.8 bushels per 

 acre. The averages for the six years show that the hybrids gave a higher 

 yield than the selections, and seem to indicate that, so far as yield is 

 concerned, the hybrids are better, on the average, than the selections. 



The data thus far obtained furnish considerable evidence of the value of 

 different classes of hybrids. It would seem that the most promising 

 combinations of those tested for New York conditions are : Burtt 

 crossed with Sixty Day, Carton's Tartar King crossed with Clydesdale, 

 Sixty Day crossed with Probsteier, and Sixty Day crossed with Clydes- 

 dale. These conclusions cannot be taken as absolute, since other com- 

 binations than those tested might prove to be more promising. 



